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Bloodrock
Bloodrock (or, less commonly, bloodstone) was an enchanted substance that existed during the New Age. No records of its existence are in evidence from the Old Age, and it is believed that the bloodrock, which Dwarves called the "blood of the Earth," was created during the Cataclysm that brought forth the New Age. Bloodrock was semi-translucent, fuschia in color, and exuded a faint luminescent glow. It demonstrated a regulated, pulsing rhythm, ostensibly guided by the Moon in the same manner that it governed the tides. Moreover, it was remarkable for its functionally indestructible properties. Successfully mined bloodrock, fashioned into weapons or armor or tools, had a notably high impact resistance and was superior to conventional equipment. In its natural state, bloodrock could be found occasionally protruding through the suface of the Earth, but was most abundant underground. It was hypothesized to form a protective shell of sorts around the planet beneath the mantle, and was virtually impossible to dig through. The only known substance capable of shattering bloodrock was diamondite, and even this required several hundred thousand high-force impacts, such as those capable of being generated by a Dwarf drilling machine. Bloodrock was a valuable resource for the butterfly people, most notably Mariposa the butterfly princess, who carried a bloodrock dagger (and later a sword), battle armor with protective bloodrock embedded in its sections, as well as a decorate coronet and amulet made from bloodrock gems. Most of the butterfly accoutrements were created by pixies, who had developed a secret means of shattering the naturally-occurring bloodrock into smaller, workable fragments, from which they fashioned weapons and armor for the butterflies. This methodology was not common practices among the Greater Races. Though this was not common knowledge to the butterflies, bloodrock was also imbued with a Dark Energy that had deleterious effects to living creatures over time. It was believed that Trolls who dwelled within the mountains had turned evil due to their prolonged exposure to bloodrock. Dragons were capable of sensing this (and, indeed, Forever the dragon made it a point to remove bloodrock artifacts from most of the treasures he collected, such as the destroyed hull of the gold-encrusted Mermaid's Bliss), and many wizards were aware of the effects of bloodrock (Tha'aron the sorcerer, who called the gem phloxstone, refused Mariposa entry with her weapons when her party visited his home in White Mesa), but the butterflies were unaware of its damaging properties. The Butterfly Queen who ruled the forest before Mariposa was equipped with many of the same traditional accoutrements, and is it believed that the Dark Energy radiating from the bloodrock was what caused her to go insane. Mariposa, too, began to eventually feel the dark effects of the bloodrock jewerly she wore, first experiencing dizzy spells and disorientation, sensory loss, and uncharacteristically irrational behavior. At Tha'aron's suggestion, Mariposa stored her unused sword in a box made of "sinker" metal that seemed to keep the dark forces of the bloodrock at bay. A particularly large chunk of bloodrock was in the ground beneath the town of Necropolis, and was the reason for the malady that had befallen the population of that town. Behind the Scenes Bloodrock got its name, presumably, for its color (which is not red, the color of blood... never let it be said that the etymology of magical rocks always makes sense). Though it's never explicitly spelled out in the course of the Butterfly Princess stories, the bloodrock is evidently radioactive, presumably due to the nuclear Cataclysm that created it. Bloodrock has occasionally been referred to as bloodstone, a name which has since been appropriated to mean something else entirely. Category:Weapons Category:Tools Category:Sorcery